Origin

Unsurprisingly, since their meanings are so dissimilar, the ear that allows you to hear and the one that bears seeds are different words. The first is an Old English word that goes right back to an ancient root that was shared by Latin auris, from which we get aural (mid 19th century). The second seems to come ultimately from the same root as Latin acer meaning pointed or sharp. To earmark (late 16th century) something is to set it aside for a particular purpose. Originally, though, it referred to the practice of marking the ear of an animal as a sign of ownership.

You might say that your ears are burning if you are subconsciously aware of being talked about or criticized. This phrase has been around in English since at least the early 1600s, but the idea is an ancient one, which the 1st-century ad Roman scholar Pliny mentioned in his Natural History. In 1738 Jonathan Swift wrote, ‘Miss, didn't your Left Ear burn last Night?…Because…you were extolled to the Skies.’

Origin

Unsurprisingly, since their meanings are so dissimilar, the ear that allows you to hear and the one that bears seeds are different words. The first is an Old English word that goes right back to an ancient root that was shared by Latin auris, from which we get aural (mid 19th century). The second seems to come ultimately from the same root as Latin acer meaning pointed or sharp. To earmark (late 16th century) something is to set it aside for a particular purpose. Originally, though, it referred to the practice of marking the ear of an animal as a sign of ownership.

You might say that your ears are burning if you are subconsciously aware of being talked about or criticized. This phrase has been around in English since at least the early 1600s, but the idea is an ancient one, which the 1st-century ad Roman scholar Pliny mentioned in his Natural History. In 1738 Jonathan Swift wrote, ‘Miss, didn't your Left Ear burn last Night?…Because…you were extolled to the Skies.’